CBC NewsAn environmental research team from the prestigious Stanford University in California has calculated exactly how Canada can move away from fossil fuels, transitioning to a totally clean energy future through existing technologies.
But the assertion that this transition is just over a decade away is the source of hot debate. The Solutions Project has evaluated the wind, water and solar potential for all 50 U.S. states and 139 countries around the world, including Canada, providing data on the costs and benefits for each nation.READ MORE

Victoria NewsIt's a common misconception that tourism is Victoria's biggest economic engine. In fact, while tourism is important, it's actually the high-tech industry that generates the capital region's greatest economic impact.
At about $4 billion annually, the high-tech industry has roughly twice the impact of tourism.
That's why the recent courting of investors from across North America was hugely important, according to Mayor Lisa Helps.
It all started out as a sort of "reverse trade mission," meant to attract investors from San Francisco in the wake of last year's trade mission to that city. READ MORE

Waterloo Region RecordCommunitech has opened offices in New York City and San Francisco with the aim of helping Waterloo Region start-ups break through in the all-important American market.
"What we are trying to do is get them to start international sales earlier than they would normally," Iain Klugman, Communitech's chief executive officer, said in a recent interview.
Communitech, based in the Tannery building in downtown Kitchener, is a non-profit organization that supports the tech sector in Waterloo Region.
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The Chronicle Herald Propel ICT's recent announcement of its latest cohort of tech start-ups illustrates just how quickly Nova Scotia, indeed Atlantic Canada, is developing a huge pool of expertise in launching and scaling high-growth companies.
The regional accelerator recently announced that 38 companies will participate in its first course of 2016, including nine in its elite Build program, which is tailored to more advanced companies. What's interesting about the group of entrepreneurs in the Build course is that the participants include authorities in their own right in a range of different fields.READ MORE

Net NewsledgerNew research published recently in Science Advances has shown how graphene can be manipulated to create the most light-absorbent material for its weight, to date. This nanometre-thin material will enable future applications such as "smart wallpaper" that could generate electricity from waste light or heat, and power a host of applications within the growing "internet of things."READ MORE

Tech CrunchGoogle recently rolled out a pilot program that introduces a new way to pay cashiers — and it involves leaving your phone in your pocket.
It's called Hands Free, and it's a way to basically connect your phone with a point of sales system using the sensors on your phone. The end result is that a point of sale device is already aware of your phone's presence, and when you want to pay for something, you can do so through Hands Free. READ MORE

GizmagSafer munitions may seem like a contradiction in terms, but modern designers put a lot of effort into creating weapons that do the least unintentional harm after or if they fail to do their job. A case in point is a new limited-range bullet invented by Brian Kim, Mark Minisi, and Stephen McFarlane at the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center. Recently awarded a U.S. patent, the proof-of-concept bullet disables itself after flying a preset distance.READ MORE

BlastrWe could be looking at the start of a renaissance in super-fast, supersonic jet travel, thanks to a new NASA initiative to potentially build a cutting-edge fleet of "X-planes." The artist's rendering is in the shot above.
NASA has awarded a $20 million contract for the preliminary design of a "low boom" flight demonstration aircraft. The craft is set to be the first in a series of "X-planes" as part of NASA's New Aviation Horizons initiative. READ MORE